Current topics in medicinal chemistry
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Increased investments and development of new technologies in drug discovery have barely improved the outcome of medicinal entities in the drug discovery market from a long time. Minimal success rates of drug approvals, poor safety profiles, and long development processes are some of many hurdles encountered in the drug discovery field. ⋯ Promising results of drug repurposing in different therapeutic areas have encouraged the scientific community to discover new drugs for different diseases using this methodology. Herein, we provide a general overview of structurally and functionally diverse approved drugs that have been repurposed as anti-cancer drugs.
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Review Meta Analysis
Ginkgo Biloba for Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Ginkgo biloba is a natural medicine used for cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. The objective of this review is to explore the effectiveness and safety of Ginkgo biloba in treating mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. ⋯ Ginkgo biloba is potentially beneficial for the improvement of cognitive function, activities of daily living, and global clinical assessment in patients with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease. However, due to limited sample size, inconsistent findings and methodological quality of included trials, more research are warranted to confirm the effectiveness and safety of ginkgo biloba in treating mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
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Review
Cardiac biomarkers in the identification of future risk in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common and disabling disease and the third leading cause of global mortality behind ischemic heart disease and stroke. Acute exacerbations of COPD accelerate lung function decline affecting the quality of life of COPD patients and moreover, remain the major contributors to morbidity and mortality of these patients. ⋯ Such molecules have been successfully used in cardiovascular diseases and therefore, cardiac biomarkers have attracted attention for their potential use in COPD. The present review summarizes the available evidence for the use of the most important cardiac biomarkers in the evaluation of COPD severity, outcomes and management.